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| Harriet Spizziri |
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Harriet Spizziri
In 1981, Harriet Spizziri and Brian Finn co-founded the Next Theatre Company with the belief that theater can promote awareness and provoke change. In the next 13 years Harriet directed 40 plays and produced over 50 plays garnering over 40 Jeff Awards and Citations. In 1993, she received a special Jeff Award for her outstanding contributions to theater in Chicago. Some of her favorite plays that she directed are: Class Enemy, Red Ryder, A Different Moon, The Film Society, Anna Christie, The Illusion, The Octet Bridge Club, Win Lose Draw and Benno Blimpie.
Quote from Richard Christiansen, Critic-Emeritus (former Chief Theater Critic) of the Chicago Tribune, “There was room enough in the large Chicago community for all sorts of wild cards, odd phenomena, venturesome seasons, and idiosyncratic enterprises. There was always a next theater – a fact that in 1981 prompted Harriet Spizziri, a North Shore housewife who wanted to be a Director to name her newly founded troupe, the Next Theatre. Along with the actor and co-founder, Brian Finn, producing, Director Spizziri went to work. “Our niche”, she said, “is the state of the art” theater. We want to introduce tomorrow’s voices, tomorrow’s stars”. Toward that goal Next Theatre made a smashing debut with her staging of Nigel Williams’ English drama of angry youth, and in 1996 it mounted a long run, first rate productions of Larry Kramer’s AIDs drama, The Normal Heart. It presented the early work of rising directors: Dexter Bullard (Bouncers) and Eric Simonson (Bang the Drum Slowly). It staged the 1993 premiere of Tracy Lett’s sensational first play, the melodrama, Killer Joe.”
In 2007, Harriet Spizziri and Brian Finn, opened a film company, Next Pictures and in 2008 will release their first collaboration in a long time a documentary titled, “In My Living Room”, it is the first film, Harriet has directed. She believes this documentary can promote awareness and provoke change.
contact at hspizziri@nextmoviepictures.com
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"Harriet Spizziri, the founder, producer and artistic director of Evanston's Next Theatre, is an unconventional woman who has always assumed a rather conventional maternal image. So Tuesday night, when she formally resigned as head of the theater company that has been her obsession for 13 years, she did so in an unconventional way, but with characteristic modesty and grace." Hedy Weiss - Chicago Sun-Times
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| Brian Finn |
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Brian L. Finn
Brian Finn is the co-founder of Next Pictures. Brian started Next Theatre with Harriet Spizziri and acted, directed and co-produced Next Theatre productions for the first seven years. He has won both Jefferson Citations and Awards as part of Next Theater productions. He was part of the off-Loop movement that created thought provoking and experimental productions. Studied both at the Goodman School of Drama and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. His work behind the camera included video and camera work on industrial films and sporting events. He was a Convention Coordinator in one of the largest trade show exhibition halls in the world at McCormick Place and Navy Pier in Chicago. He has directed episodes of a series created for syndicated distribution. The project, In My Living Room is a personal tribute to his father who served in World War II and his brother served in Vietnam War. He plans to continue working on projects that will promote awareness and provoke change in today’s world.
contact at bleefinn@nextmoviepictures.com
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Next Pictures was founded in 2007 by Harriet Spizziri and Brian Finn, with the firm belief that the spoken word can prove a powerful catalyst for social awareness and community involvement; and with the vision that this film production company would prove capable and willing to take chances on new screenplays, new artists, new styles and new audiences -- in short, to challenge ourselves and in so doing to challenge the communities in which we live. That is our mission.
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| Larry Hart Design |
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Larry Hart
Larry has worked with Harriet in various projects at Next Theatre Company. His contributions has helped promote the creativity present in the productions at Next. He is graphic designer, audio engineer and has worked with other Chicago Theater companies. He was an audio engineer for a major Advertising Agency in Chicago. He believes that the collaborative process brings focus to strategic ideas in different media. He has worked with designers and directors at Steppenwolf Theater, Next, Body Politic, Pegasus, Lifeline, Pary Productions Company. He has received several awards for his Sound Design at both Steppenwolf and Bailiwick. He currently has his own web design company, Larry Hart web design.
contact at larry@takeittohart.com
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| Jorge Ozorno, Filmmaker |
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Jorge Ozorno is a nexistentialister, an informal plastic artist.
As one betrayed by his architectural training, he finds inspiration in the daily simple acts that intersect in the urban environment to produce an existence of rich meaning. He has worked for many years in deconstructed photography which has been exhibited in the US, Mexico, and Europe.
Originally from Mexico, he’s been living in San Diego, CA for the last eight years.
His future plans include creating a series of short films dealing with the essence of his developing philosophy, Nexistentialism.
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| Melanio Flaviano - Producer |
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| Melanio Flaviano
Melanio has been invaluable for this new production company, he is the reliable producer that helped in launching Next Pictures to its current position in the film industry. He plans to make a difference and make this world better than he came into it. His background experience ranges from Research and Development, Non-profit and System Analyst positions. All of this is not possible without his intuitive assistance and hard work. He is currently the contact for Publicity, Press Releases and Current Projects at Next Pictures. He is one of the Producers from the latest short film from Next Pictures, "The Urban Farmer" directed by another member of the Creative Team - Jorge Ozorno.
Contact at melanio@nextmoviepictures.com
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